City Administrator David Stafford filled in for Mayor D.C. Reeves at Tuesday’s press conference, covering a wide range of city projects.
Fricker Center Renovation Moving Forward
Green Simmons was awarded a $7.8 million contract to renovate the Fricker Center. Funding comes from a combination of a Multi-Purpose Community Facility grant, Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds and Local Option Sales Tax money.
- Programs in the gymnasium will continue through the end of the school year, then pause until construction wraps up. The center is expected to reopen in June 2027. Families currently using Fricker for after-school care are being surveyed to help plan transportation and programming for the 2026-27 school year. Woodland Heights and Cobb Center will serve as alternate sites in the meantime.
The renovated facility will include a career lab, senior center, healthcare access, expanded stormwater infrastructure, increased parking, ADA-compliant updates and renovated restrooms, entryways and kitchen.
Barrancas Avenue Lane Reduction Starts Monday
Stafford gave residents a heads-up on significant traffic changes beginning Monday. Barrancas Avenue will be compressed from four lanes to two lanes for approximately seven weeks as the city and EC Way team up to improve drainage and install new sanitary sewer infrastructure at the three-way intersection of Barrancas, K and Main.
Phase One (six weeks): Westbound traffic on Main will be detoured via Ice Street. Vehicles trying to access Main Street via Barrancas will be detoured to High Street.
Phase Two: Southbound vehicles on K trying to access Barrancas will be detoured to Saragosa…